-The Hindu     Present Assembly has 103 Vokkaligas and Lingayats Bidar: As the new government takes over and there are high expectations of "change" on several fronts, a sobering reminder of some things that remain constant is the composition of the Assembly in terms of caste, religion and gender. Dominant castes in the State - Vokkaligas, Brahmins and Lingayats - which are socially and economically strong and have traditionally enjoyed high representation in the...

-The Hindu The National Commission for Women has extended its support to the ongoing campaign for allowing non-professional undergraduate women students in Aligarh Muslim University access to the Maulana Azad Library. The NCW has written to the Union Human Resource Development Ministry expressing its concern over "the gender discrimination". Faculty members and students, who have been demanding an end to the "discriminatory" practice that does not allow students from Women's College access...

-Economic and Political Weekly An analysis of the study of Maharashtra prisons commissioned by the state's Minorities Commission finds an over-representation of Muslims in jails. A clear link is established between the criminal justice system and discrimination faced by this minority. This study points to the need for State and non-State institutions to address the marginalisation faced by Muslims which leads to such discrimination. For more, please click here   ...

-The Hindu The influx of 2.5 lakh Muslims after the 2008 constituency delimitationled to insecurity among Hindus in Dhule, claims social activist Almost two months since six people were killed after communal violence in the north Maharashtra district of Dhule, the aggressive-yet-vulnerable countenance of the town has resurfaced. Citizens, both Hindu and Muslim, reveal that behind the volatility is the small town’s neglected struggle for an identity. A small fight at a local...

-The Times of India Sociologist Ashis Nandy's controversial words at the Jaipur lit fest are being debated heatedly but there is one thing that is difficult to argue with: there is a lack of representation from the backward classes and tribals in the upper echelons of power in West Bengal. Over the last 100 years, he said, "nobody from the other backward classes (OBCs), the backward classes, the scheduled castes and...